Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson doesn’t think much of an economist hired by the Maloofs. The economist says the mayor and the city were given faulty data.

Chris Thornberg, the economist hired by the Maloof family to
examine the now-defunct arena deal says critics of his analysis
should defend their numbers instead of attacking him. He is
the founder of Beacon Economics. They were hired by
the attorneys of the Sacramento Kings owners. Thornberg
looked at the financing information supplied to the City of
Sacramento.

He says the parking traffic won't likely double, new spending
from within the region won't increase much if at all, and projected
arena revenues are between $5 million and $15 million per year more
than what could be reasonably expected.

THORNBERG: "These kind of bad impact studies are par for
the course. It's just how the industry works, if you will,
and it's sad that our policy debates have been underwritten more
often than not by faulty research. But, that's just the way it
is. I mean, this isn't the first impact study that has vastly
over-estimated the negative or positive impact of some major event
on a local economy. "

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson stands by the research provided
by parking operators, arena operator AEG and the NBA.

JOHNSON: "Some economist I don't even know is going to
come to Sacramento, tell us what we can and cannot do, get confused
with state law versus Sacramento and the city, be confused with
Sacramento and Anaheim, that's ridiculous."

Thornberg's other job is Chief Economist for the California
Controller's office. He testified before the NBA Board of
Governors last Friday.

Jeremiah Jackson with pro-arena group Think Big says the NBA
looked at what happens when the circumstances of a team are vastly
improved.

JACKSON: "Six straight seasons without going to the
playoffs and kind of poor performance on the court as wells as
uncertainty about whether or not the team is actually going
to move to another city. So, that's the current state of the
team."

Thornberg says he has no connections to the City of Anaheim and
no interest in what happens to the Sacramento Kings. He says
there is still hope for an arena deal, if both sides take another
look at the numbers.

THORNBERG: "Why can't we sit down at the table, come up
with some reasonable assumptions, figure out what the city can
afford, figure out what the team can afford, and then -with that
budget- figure out what to do?"

Mayor Johnson says he will consult with the NBA, AEG and other
"trusted partners" to see if there is any hope for the project at
the Railyards